CDC: Teen Births at Historic Lows

CDC: Teen Births at Historic Lows

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), birth rates for U.S. teen mothers have hit their lowest point since the 1940s.

The CDC reports 329,797 children were born last year to teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19, the lowest number of births to that age group since 1946. The teen birth rate has seen a significant drop over the last two decades in particular, falling 38 percent since 1991.

The birth rate for women in their early 20s dropped to its lowest point ever recorded, meanwhile, at 85.3 births per 1,000 women.

The figures are in line with past studies on teen pregnancy. A February report from the Guttmacher Institute, a group that studies sexual health, estimated that the U.S. teen birth rate had hit its lowest point in decades.

New CDC data also revealed that overall U.S. births have declined for the fourth year in a row — a trend expected to result from the economic downturn.

The CDC figures on declining teen births were collected by state health departments. The agency's report did not suggest reasons for the trend.